MOBILIZATION  FOR  FOOD  PRODUCTION 

A  PLAN  FOR 

CIVIL-MILITARY  SERVICE 

TO  INSURE  AN  ADEQUATE  FOOD  SUPPLY  FOR  THE  UNITED 
STATES  AND  WESTERN  EUROPE 

Proposed  by  the  University  of  Illinois 

Prepared  by  the  Faculty  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  the 
Department  of  Economics 


This  Plan  is  based  upon  the  following  facts: 

1.  The  present  production  of  food  in  the  United  States  is  not 
increasing  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  population. 

2.  In  going  to  war,  the  production  of  food  is  our  strongest  asset, 
particularly  in  view  of  the  reduced  food  production  in  Canada  and  in 
western  Europe, 

3.  The  experience  of  all  time  indicates  that  every  nation  in  going 
to  war  puts  men  into  active  military  service  without  regard  to  the 
disturbance  of  basic  industrial  conditions,  even  the  production  of  the 
food  of  the  people. 

4.  Indiscriminate  enlistment  from  the  farms  with  no  plan  for 
labor  replacement  is  certain  to  reduce  food  production  below  the  level 
of  positive  need,  for  we  alread}^  have  two  lean  years  behind  us  and 
under  present  conditions  of  a  hungry  world  continued  shortage  may 
mean  disaster. 

5.  If  an  adequate  food  supply  is  to  be  assured,  the  military  plan 
must  include  an  enlistment  for  food  production  as  definite  as  for  service 
at  the  front.  From  the  first  the  Department  of  War  should  as  rigor- 
ously protect  the  food  production  as  it  does  any  other  means  of 
national  defense. 

6.  Anything  like  limiting  the  food  of  the  people  is  wholly  un- 
necessary if  reasonable  attention  be  given  to  the  business  of  produc- 
tion.   America  has  land  enough,  if  it  is  properly  handled,  to  feed  both 


herself  and  western  Europe ;  besides,  more  men  would  be  required  to 
enforce  a  police  restriction  of  food  than  would  be  required  to  turn  a 
scarcity  into  an  abundance. 

7.  For  years  labor  has  been  deserting  the  land  and  building  up 
conditions  of  employment  that  the  farmer  cannot  meet,  for  it  is  impos- 
sible to  conduct  a  farm  upon  the  eight-hour  plan  and  according  to 
union  rules.  The  typical  family  of  five  cannot  work  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage the  typical  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres,  and  the  farmer  has  reached  the  limit  in  the  use  of 
machinery  and  in  the  employment  of  his  children  to  replace  the  hired 
help  that  has  gone  to  the  city.  Any  plan  to  be  safe,  therefore,  must 
not  only  make  good  the  enlistment  from  the  country,  but  must  actually 
add  to  the  present  labor  supply  of  the  farmer. 


DETAIL  PROCEDURE 

I.  Registration. — Register  every  farm  operator,  whether  owner, 
tenant,  or  manager,  together  with  the  number  of  acres  of  tillable  land, 
pasture,  and  timber ;  the  men  he  usually  employs,  including  his  sons, 
and  the  number  of  men  he  would  need  to  employ  in  order  to  insure 
maximum  crops. 

II.     Enlistment. — Enlist  in  the  Civil-Military  Service  and  under 
military  pay  the  following  classes : 

1.  Men  above  military  age,  especially  with  farm  experience. 

2.  Men   of   military   age   and   of   good   health   but   either 

permanently  or  temporarily  unfit  for  war  service  at 
the  front.  ) 

3.  Boys  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age,  whether  from    ' 

the  country  or  from  the  city. 

he 
III.     Training  Camp  Farms  -^„ 

1.  Establish  at  convenient  points  on  land  rented  by  thdll 
government  and  suitable  for  intensive  farming,  military  camps  where-g 
the  enlisted  men  not  otherwise  employed  (see  under  Employment)  may  § 
be  gathered  and  housed,  such  farms  to  be  devoted  to  +he  raising  of  ^ 
crops  requiring  a  maximum  amount  of  hand  labor,  such  as  vegetables,  ^ 
small  fruits,  cotton,  and  tobacco. 

2.  Erect  at  these  centers  facilities  for  drying  and  canning  , 
such  food  products  for  preservation  and  for  transportation. 


IV.    Employment 

1.  On  farms :  The  largest  asset  for  food  production  is  the 
thousands  of  farms  already  organized  under  the  management  of  ex- 
perienced farmers,  each  with  an  independent  business  operating  thru 
established  channels  of  trade.  Here  should  go  the  maximum  of  the 
enlisted  men,  and  the  camps  should  be  ready  at  all  times  to  furnish 
lists  of  available  help,  it  being  understood  that  men  under  employment 
by  the  farmer  are  on  furlough  and  off  government  pay,  receiving  from 
the  farmer  the  ''going  wage"  of  the  locality,  dependent  upon  the  work 
the  man  or  the  b6y  is  able  to  do.  All  such  enlisted  men  should  be  re- 
ported from  time  to  time  as  may  be  required  by  the  military  authorities. 

It  should  be  understood  as  a  part  of  the  plan  that  an  en- 
listed man  having  taken  service  with  a  farmer  and  becoming  dissatis- 
fied may  return  to  the  camp  and  the  lower  wage,  or  if  he  is  unable  to 
give  satisfaction  he  may  be  discharged,  in  which  case  he  must  return 
at  once  to  camp. 

2.  Enlisted  men  not  employed  on  private  farms  should  be 
at  the  camp  farms  under  military  discipline,  but  under  agricultural 
leadership ;  such  men  to  devote  their  first  attention  to  the  production 
of  food  under  the  direction  of  an  agricultural  leader,  chosen  in  each 
ease  for  his  ability  in  the  particular  kind  of  farming  followed  at  this 
si)ecial  camp. 

The  plan  of  farming  should  be  such  as  to  afford  time  for 
regular  military  drill  for  those  of  military  age  and  below,  not  only 
for  the  welfare  of  the  camp,  but  in  order  to  afford  preparation  for  such 
as  are  going  to  the  front  as  soon  as  their  age  limitations  or  physical 
disabilities  are  removed.  In  general,  men  of  military  age  and  above 
without  farm  experience  should  be  quartered  in  regions  engaged  in 
intensive  farming  where  oversight  is  possible. 

As  the  camp  is  depleted  by  members  entering  the  active 
iTjailitary  service,  its  numbers  should  be  systematically  replenished  by 

Ijiew  enlistments. 
Eegistration  or  enlistment  for  Civil-Military  Service 
should  be  considered  as  truly  patriotic  as  any  service,  and  such  enlist- 
ment should  be  made  attractive  thru  formal  recognition,  as  by  uni- 
forms and  the  use  of  special  organizations,  ranks,  and  degrees  of 
efficiency,  even  promotion  and  commissions.  Especially  is  this  true  for 
the  younger  men  and  boys. 


3  0112  105630385 


ENDORSEMENT  OF  ILLINOIS  PLAN 

Extracts  from  plan  proposed  by  a  Conference  of  State  Agricul- 
tural officials  and  representatives  of  the  Agricultural  Colleges,  of  the/ 
states  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  sitting  in  St.  Louis,  April  9  and^j 
10,  on  call  of  the  Honorable  David  F.  Houston,  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture and  by  him  recommended  to  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 


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''Mobilizing  Farm  Labor 

''The  plan  for  public  defense  should  include  as  definite  a  provision  for 
enlistment  for  food  supply  as  for  service  at  the  front. 

' '  In  addition  to  more  than  one-half  of  those  applying  for  enlistment  and 
rejected  because  of  unfitness  for  military  service,  there  are  more  than  two 
millions  of  boys  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  nineteen  years  in  the  cities 
and  towns  not  now  engaged  in  productive  work  vital  to  the  nation  in  the  pres- 
ent war  emergency 

"In  consideration  of  all  these  facts,  the  plan  of  military  enlistment  should 
be  broadened  so  as  to  include  in  a  national  service  those  who,  by  reason  of 
their  age  or  physical  condition,  are  permanently  or  temporarily  incapacitattjd  for 
active  military  duty  but  who  are  able  to  render  to  the  Government  equally 
indispensable  service  in  the  production  of  food,  supplies,  and  munitions.    \ 

"This  enlistment  should  include  three  classes:  men  beyond  military  age; 
men  of  military  age  but  not  accepted  for  active  military  duty;  and  boys  upder 
age  for  enlistment. 

' '  The  Government  should  make  plans  at  once  for  the  mobilization  of 
important   resource    for   the   production    of   food    and    other   necessities 
proposed  enlistment  in  the  national  service  sliould  be  regarded  as  part  of 'the 
public    patriotic   service  in   the   present   war   emergency   and   be   given   prQper 
official  recognition. 

''The  Harvest  Emergency 

"...  .We  suggest  that  the  Federal  Department  of  Agriculture,  coope'rating 
with  the  State  Departments  of  Agriculture  and  other  agencies,  should  takeWeps 
to  mobilize  sufficient  farm  labor  to  meet  all  emergencies  which  may  arisel 


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Agreeable  to  the  conclusions  of  this  Conference,  bills  have 
introduced  in  Congress;  and  the  State  University  urges  the  farmorjs, 
of  Illinois  to  turn  every  energy  to  increasing  the  food  supply,  not  b^ 
unusual  crops  or  methods,  but  by  those  known  to  be  successful  in  tjlie 
locality.  Corn,  navy  beans,  potatoes,  and  wheat  are  the  food  crobs 
most  needed  ;  and  the  world's  shortage  seems  to  mean  that  prices  will 
be  satisfactory.  An  immediate  increase  of  poultry  and  the  raising 
of  fall  litters  of  pigs  are  needed  to  prevent  shortage  in  meat.  Thr§ 
family  supply  of  small  fruits  and  vegetables  should  be  produced  4t 
home,  saving  the  commercial  goods  for  shipment.  But  while  every ;- 
thing  possible  is  being  done  to  increase  production,  it  is  of  extrem^i 
importance  also  that  waste  in  every  form  be  avoided. 


Urbana 
April  20, 


1917 


Director  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
University  of  Illinois 


